Secure line-of-sight communication with aircraft

ABSTRACT

Improvements in secure communication using drones. The communication uses aircraft to provide a secure communication link that prevents undesirable reception. The secure link can be between two people, groups or more specific people. Optical transmission can be from laser, infrared, ultraviolet, white light or a particular wavelength of light. One or multiple of aircraft to relay information between senders and receivers. The aircraft can be drones that operate within buildings or with overhead aircraft. The aircraft can intelligently follow or lead a person to maintain a line-of-sight. Each user can have their own tracking aircraft and the aircraft can communicate between each other using light and/or wireless communication to optimize line-of-sight between the aircraft over geographic medium. The geographic medium may include one or more of terrain, air, water, and space. The object may be a soldier, vehicle, drone, or ballistic.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application Ser. No.62/989,508 filed Mar. 13, 2020, is a continuation-in-part of applicant'sco-pending application Ser. No. 16/748,165 filed Jan. 21, 2020 theentire contents of which is hereby expressly incorporated by referenceherein.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates to improvements in a secure communication betweentwo or more people or groups. More particularly, the present secureline-of-sight communication with aircraft creates a communication systemwhereby light is used to communicate and the light can be received anddirected using aircraft that adjust their position to maintainline-of-sight between the two or more people or groups and the aircraftto communicate about a moving object.

Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR1.97 and 1.98

There are several circumstances where secure communication is necessaryto prevent ease dropping by other. One of the most common methods forsecure communication is with radio waves and an encrypted signal. Themajor problem with radio communication is that radio waves transmit inall directions and once the signal has been decrypted the communicationis no longer secure. Another method of communication is with a laserwhere the beam is directed to a specific point where the optical signalcan be received and converted into audio or other data. The majorproblem with this type of communication is that it requires a fairlytight beam of light and reception. It either the sender or receivermoves or is blocked by and object the line-of-sight can be disrupted.

A number of patents and or publications have been made to address theseissues. Exemplary examples of patents and or publication that try toaddress this/these problem(s) are identified and discussed below.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,476 issued on Sep. 4, 2001 to Robert T. Carlson etal., and is titled Laser Communication System and Method. This patentdiscloses a laser communication system for full duplex wideband datatransmission includes first and second terminals having dichroicwavelength-multiplexed optical systems wherein transmitted and receivedlight are multiplexed along a path through the same aperture. Theoptical systems each preferably comprise a cassegrain receiver havingprimary and secondary mirrors for directing both transmitted andreceived laser light. While this patent discloses a light communicationsystem it works with laser light with a very narrow light beam and doesnot allow for movement between the transmitter and the receiver.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,554,084 issued on Oct. 8, 2013 to Jae-Seung Song et al.,and is titled Apparatus and method for visible light communication. Thispatent discloses an apparatus for transmitting Visible LightCommunication (VLC) data, in which a data processor processes data to betransmitted, a modulator modulates data received from the data processorinto a signal for VLC, a light output unit outputs light of apredetermined color and includes in the light a signal of any selectedone characteristic among signals of two different characteristics, and alight output controller selects at least one of the signals of differentcharacteristics, and controls the light output unit so that a signalfrom the modulator is output through the signal of the selectedcharacteristic. This patent uses lights in fixed locations and does notoperate with moving senders and receivers.

U.S. Publication Number 2015/0245448 was published on Aug. 27, 2015 toReadler, Blaine Clifford and is titled Encoded Light-ActivatedIllumination. This publication discloses a method for controllingdetached lighting units uses source light of a capable flashlight tocommunicate information. The capable flashlight encodes an ID Tag inmodulated light, and the detached lighting units recognize the specificID Tag and responds, for example by activating and creatingillumination. This publication does not use bi-directionalcommunication.

U.S. Publication Number 2017/0230118 was published on Aug. 10, 2017 toNarkis E. Shatz et al., and is titled Transmitters for OpticalNarrowcasting. This publication discloses a method for controllingdetached lighting units uses source light of a capable flashlight tocommunicate information. The capable flashlight encodes an ID Tag inmodulated light, and the detached lighting units recognize the specificID Tag and responds, for example by activating and creatingillumination. This publication does not use bi-directionalcommunication.

What is needed is a narrow beam light communication that can operatewith moving sender and receiver. The proposed secure line-of-sightcommunication with aircraft uses aircraft(s) that receives and transmitslight communication sources to communicate around solid objects wherelight will not transmit through.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the secure line-of-sight communication with aircraftto provide a secure communication link that prevents reception. Thesecure link can be between two people or more specific people.Additional people can be added or removed from the communication groupby altering where the signal is sent.

It is an object of the secure line-of-sight communication with aircraftto use an optical data transmission mechanism. The optical transmissioncan be from laser, infrared, ultraviolet, white light or a particularwavelength of light. Depending upon the wavelength of the light, thelight could appear as ambient light or from a flashlight if it wasobserved in different levels of natural light.

It is another object of the secure line-of-sight communication withaircraft to use one or a multiple of aircraft to relay informationbetween senders and receivers. The aircraft can be drones that operatewithin buildings or with overhead aircraft. The aircraft move within 3-Dspace to remain in line-of-sight between two parties using one or aplurality of aircraft.

It is another object of the secure line-of-sight communication withaircraft for the aircraft to automatically determining one or more of apredicted location or range of locations for the moving two or morespecific people for a potential path of travel. The aircraft can providean alert for other moving objects in the vicinity with an alertconcerning the moving object(s) or people, and providing the alert. Theautomatically determining may be further based on one or more historicaltraits concerning the object(s), and the geographic medium the object ismoving through. The geographic medium may include one or more ofterrain, air, water, and space. The object may be a soldier, vehicle, ordrone. As described further below, the object may also be a ballistic.The automatically determining may be further based on one or morehistorical traits concerning the object, and the geographic medium theobject is moving through. The geographic medium may include one or moreof terrain, air, water, and space. The object may be a soldier, vehicle,or drone. As described further below, the object may also be aballistic.

It is another object of the secure line-of-sight communication withaircraft for the aircraft to receive and detect the moving objectinformation that may only be detected from an elevated position. Theaircraft can receive historical traits and trends associated with themoving object, including statistical movement characteristics of theobject, the statistical movement characteristics including accelerationand speed ability of the identified object; and adjusting the maximumacceleration, maximum speed, and maximum reachable range for the objectas a function of geographic mediums that the object will move through intime over the projected course and trajectory of the object. In someembodiments, the method considers average speeds a particular object maytraverse a particular geographic medium.

It is still another object of the secure line-of-sight communicationwith aircraft where the aircraft can intelligently follow or lead aperson to maintain a line-of-sight. Each user can have their owntracking aircraft and the aircraft can communicate between each otherusing light and/or wireless communication to optimize line-of-sightbetween the aircraft.

It is still another object of the secure line-of-sight communicationwith aircraft where the communication for transmission or reception iswith a mobile device such as a phone or table where transmission can bewith the screen or flash and the reception can be with the camera.

Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with theaccompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 shows a secure line-of-sight communication system.

FIG. 2 shows a transmitter system.

FIG. 3 shows a receiver system.

FIG. 4 shows a control system for the line-of-sight communicationsystem.

FIG. 5 shows a centering receiver.

FIG. 6 shows a secure line-of-sight communication with aircraft.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of a secure line-of-sight communicationwith aircraft.

FIG. 8 shows a line-of-sight drone.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an operational flow chart of a method,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows a simplified block diagram of a computing system,according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It will be readily understood that the components of the presentinvention, as generally described and illustrated in the drawingsherein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of differentconfigurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of theembodiments of the system and method of the present invention, asrepresented in the drawings, is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention, but is merely representative of various embodiments of theinvention. The illustrated embodiments of the invention will be bestunderstood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts aredesignated by like numerals throughout.

Item Numbers and Description 20 optical receiver 21 X motor 22 Y motor23 Z motor 24 housing 25 sensor 26 rim sensor(s) 40 optical transmitter41 broad beam 42 narrow beam 43 lens 44 signal 45 return signal 60controller 70 headset 80 speaker 90 microphone 91 amplifier 92 emitter93 amplifier 100 controller 110 GPS 120 power 130 wireless communication200 first craft 201 second craft 202 first user 203 second user 204non-user 205 non-user 300 first drone 301 second drone 900 flow diagram902 user interface 904 receive data 906 receive sensor data 908 mergedata 910 determining 912 provide alert 1000 computer system 1010processor 1020 memory 1030 mass storage 1040 portable storage 1050output device 1060 input device 1070 display system 1080 peripherals1090 single bus

While this technology is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail several specific embodiments with the understanding that thepresent disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of theprinciples of the technology and is not intended to limit the technologyto the embodiments illustrated. The terminology used herein is for thepurpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended tobe limiting of the technology. As used herein, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unlessthe context clearly indicates otherwise.

It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,”“includes,” and/or “including,” when used in this specification, specifythe presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood that like oranalogous elements and/or components, referred to herein, may beidentified throughout the drawings with like reference characters.

FIG. 1 shows a secure line-of-sight communication system. This figureshows a general pictorial diagram of a communication system for twoseparate users for using light communication. Each user has a headset 70with a controller 60 that connects to an optical transmitter 40 and anoptical receiver 20. While the system shows that both users have both anoptical transmitter 40 and an optical receiver 20, one user can have anoptical transmitter 40 with multiple people having optical receivers 20.The optical transmitter 40 has a light source that transmits a signal 44through a lens 43.

The headset 70 has a microphone 90 that receives an audible signal froma user and a speaker 80 where the user can hear a signal 44 from theiroptical receiver 20. The controller 60 can operate with a common headset70 to convert the signals to and from the optical transmitter 40 and anoptical receiver 20. Collectively the optical transmitter 40 and anoptical receiver 20 can be called a transceiver. The signal 44 can alsobe received by a phone, tablet, computer, goggles, wrist mounted screenor watch where it can be viewed.

The light source can be from laser, infrared, ultraviolet, white lightor a particular wavelength of light. Depending upon the wavelength ofthe light, the light could appear as ambient light or from a flashlightif it was observed in different levels of natural light. The opticaltransmitter 40 has a lens 43 that can be adjusted to alter the width ofthe transmission beam from a narrow beam 42 to a broad beam 41 or anyvariation therein between. The width of the beam allows for a wider ornarrow person or group of people to receive the signal. The signal 44 isdetected by the optical receiver 20 where the optical signal isconverted back into an audible should. While this example shows anddescribes transmission and reception of an audible signal, it should beunderstood that the signal could be data.

FIG. 2 shows a transmitter system. This is a fairly simplified circuitwithout a power source and support circuitry. In the circuit a signalfrom a microphone 90 is received and connects to an amplifier 91 thatamplifies the signal to a level that will drive an emitter 92 to producean optical broad beam 41. A lens can then narrow the broad beam 41 toreduce the potential for the signal to be received by undesirablepeople. While this example shows the emitter 92 is a light emittingdiode (LED) other illumination light sources are contemplated. Ingeneral, the emitter 92 needs to have a fast enough response toaccommodate the frequency of the audio or digital signal.

FIG. 3 shows a receiver system. This is a fairly simplified circuitwithout a power source and support circuitry. The optical signal isreceived by a sensor 25 and passes through an amplifier 93 so the signalcan be heard from the speaker 80. The sensor 25 can be tuned to areceive a particular wavelength of light to filter out undesirablesignal and to only receive signal from the optical transmitter.

In some uses of the secure line-of-sight communication, the personsending and the person receiving the signal are at fixed positions wherethe optical transmitter and the optical receiver simply point to eachother. There are many other instances where one or both of thetransmitter and receiver a moving and both the transmitter and thereceiver must continue to more or adjust their orientation and/orposition to maintain the line-of-sight. This requires one or a pluralityof motors to adjust X, Y, Z and or yaw, pitch and roll.

FIG. 4 shows a control system for the line-of-sight communicationsystem. In this embodiment the optical receiver 20 and the opticalreceiver 40 is mounted to a housing 24. The housing 24 has a pluralityof motors, such as an X motor 21, a Y motor 22, and a Z motor 23 toposition and orientate the optical receiver 20 and the optical receiver40 to maintain a line-of-sight. This embodiment shows a controller 100that controls and positions the motors. A power 120 source providespower to the system and amplifies the signal from the microphone 90 tothe optical transmitter and amplifies the signal 44 from the opticalreceiver 20 to the speaker 80. Multiple units can be used tocommunicate. The optical beam can be a broad beam 41 or a narrow beam toinclude or exclude a larger or smaller number of people that can receiveand interact.

In deployment, the location and position between the users may not beknown. To allow for initial positioning the two (or more) a globalpositioning sensor (GPS) can find the position and direction of eachdevice and may use a wireless radio signal to establish an initialposition to align the line-of-sight beams.

FIG. 5 shows a centering receiver. To maintain that a receiver keeps theline-of-sight aligned the optical receiver 20 uses a sensor 25 with aplurality of rim sensors 26. In this figure, the signal 44 is shown withbroken lines. The previously identified controller 100 can monitor theplurality of rim sensors 26 to determine an alignment of the signal 44with the sensor 25. Depending upon the rim sensors 26 that receive thesignal, the motors 21, 22 and 23 are operated to increase the amount ofsignal 44 that reaches the sensor 25.

FIG. 6 shows a secure line-of-sight communication with aircraft. Thisexample shows communication with ocean vessels that typically use radiofrequencies to communicate. Radio waves transmit omni-directional andcan be easily received by anyone within range of the signal. One problemwith water and land craft is curvature of the earth that can blocksignals. Radio signals can be sent to satellites that replicate thesignal that can make it easier for additional people to receive thesignal. In this figure the line-of-sight signal 44 going out or thereturn signal 45 can be sent from a first craft 200 to a first drone 300that can be launched from the first craft 200 or from a moving vehicle,a stationary location, a roving vehicle, another craft or from land. Thefirst drone 300 can remain above or near the first craft 200 and cansend a signal 44A and a return signal 45A to a second drone 301 that isabove or near a second craft 201. The communication from the first craft200 can then be sent from the second drone 301 with a signal 44B and areturn signal 45B to provide a secure line-of-sight communication. Thefirst drone 300 and the second drone 301 use a variety of sensors tomaintain line-of-sight signals. The signal 44, 44A, 44B and/or returnsignal 45, 45A, 45B can be voice and/or data communication that can beheard or shown in a screen such as on a phone, computer, tablet or wristmounted display.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of a secure line-of-sight communicationwith aircraft. In a battle situation, users such as a first 202 user anda second user 203 can move in and around a battle zone or other areawhere line-of-sight between the users 202 and 203 can be blocked bytopography or by walls or structures. While this example shows a firstdrone 300 and a second drone 301, it is contemplated that a single dronecan be used receive and relay a signal from the first user 202 and thesecond user 203.

The first drone 300 can remain above or near the first user 202 and cansend a signal 44A and a return signal 45A to a second drone 301 that isabove or near a second user 203. The communication from the first user202 can then be sent from the second drone 301 with a signal 44B and areturn signal 45B to provide a secure line-of-sight communication. Thedrones 300 and 301 are able to communicate with the users 202 and 203 tomove and maintain a stable and secure communication without non-users204 and 205 from intercepting the signals 44 and 45. The system caninclude additional users in the communication loop with additionaldrones or by altering the transmission beam.

FIG. 8 shows a line-of-sight drone such as a first drone 300. This drone300 has at least a sending and receiving modules on the bottom of thedrone and at a side of the drone. This allows for a signal 44 and areturn signal 45 from the bottom of the drone and a signal 44A and areturn signal 45A from a side of the drone. To allow for initialpositioning the two (or more) a global positioning sensor (GPS) can findthe position and direction of each device and may use a wirelesscommunication radio signal to establish an initial position to align theline-of-sight beams.

The drone(s) also have the ability to monitor and view the area aroundthe people in the secure communication environment. The drone(s) can addadditional secure communication to the members based upon other peopleand hazards. It should be appreciated that the present technology is notlimited to the objects being hazards; other objects may be moving andprocessed to the present technology to maintain a communication link. Inaddition, although some examples herein are described with respect tomoving hazards that a person, police or military member could encounterin the field or on the road, the present technology is not limited tothat type of moving hazards.

In various embodiments, the determination of the travel trajectory canbe based on the route and destination for the user. The destination canbe determined variously, for example, based on navigation systemcommunication, user input/selection, or predicted based on historicaldata that can show a pattern of having certain destinations at the timeand place of the trip, based on past destinations for the route taken,based on the user's calendar or other information the user had provided,with different weights given to the information depending on the sourceof the information, e.g., less weight to destinations based on distanthistory and more weight to destinations based on the venue for an event.

For movement prediction in various embodiments, the form of movementneeds to be matched with the polygon representing calculated potentiallocations within a determined timeframe based on mobility physics of theobject, for example a person can physically run at maximum measuredmaximum speed of nearly 28 MPH (e.g., world's fastest runner Usain Boltin the 100-Meter Sprint). The average vehicle has an average maximumspeed of between 100-120 miles per hour. In various embodiments, themethod calculates the average maximum speed of an identifiedobject/person/vehicle, along with conditions of the object's terrain andthe limited mobility and speed based on same (i.e. hills, pavementcondition, curves in road, etc.) and calculates the maximum accelerationrate of a moving object (which could be a person, vehicle, or otherobject) along with its average calculated maximum speed and adjusts thealgorithm in real time using the actual geo-location and relativemovement against this algorithm to determine the earliest potentialopportunity for an encounter (e.g., with the moving hazard, person,vehicle, etc.,). This can create a level of awareness for all users thatwill allow for appropriate preparation of possible encounter.

For example, drones or other automated sensing devices can be used tomonitor and/or identify a moving object and take various actions. Insome embodiment, one or more drones are launched in response to a reportof a moving object. Drones can be launched from other moving vehicles,from stationary stored locations, or from roving vehicles tasked tofollow tagged objects. The moving object can be detected by thedrone(s), (e.g., based on the initial report with descriptors),reported, tagged and followed. Some embodiments provide a uniqueidentifier for any target moving object; use a network of availablesensors from moving vehicles, fixed points, etc.; and deliver data to acentral system for later identification and tracking. This system may becloud-based and could be decentralized for increased security andcapability.

Exemplary methods include a system for real-time tracking using, forexamples, drones and/or networked sensor technology. In someembodiments, drones or other sensor carrying devices (hard mounted ormobile including law enforcement vehicles and autonomous vehicles)identify and image targets using sensors such as photo, laser, lidar,infrared, radar, sonic, etc. to identify a target's unique identity(e.g., turning objects into their own QR codes, in essence) so othernetworked sensor systems can help recognize and update target locationand other target deltas to the central system.

In some embodiments, the method can calculate the movement of an objectin any predictable direction based on the movement range andcharacteristics of that object, including rate of acceleration and rangeof speed. Such embodiments may aid, for example, in the tracking ofdrones or other drones that could pose a danger to vehicles, or people.

For hiking app integration, for instance, the method may track hikers,mountain bikers, rock climbers, ice climbers, etc. The method may detecta rock-climbing fall, general fall, or other hazardous movement and havea “life alert” two-way communication if a person is disabled from afall. If there is no response from climber or hiker to an alert, themethod can alert others (where “others” as used herein may includepeople, robots (e.g., “robot doctors”), autonomous vehicles, drones, andthe like) in the area with location information to provide help for theinjured person. Other kinds of problems that may occur on the hikingtrail albeit a sprained ankle, dehydration, lost, etc. could also bereported. In addition, the presence of dangerous animals could bedetected by various embodiments or reported by other, including thepresence of bears, rattlesnakes, mountain lions, etc. The last knownlocation of such moving hazards (or other objects) could be sent toauthorities, rangers, and hikers in the area.

FIG. 9 is a simplified flow diagram 900 of an example method, accordingto some embodiments, with further details described herein. While forsome the communication is only voice, the system can support input froma wrist mounted device, phone, tablet or computer with the communicationexchanged to others. The flow diagram 900 has optional Step 902, asindicated by the dashed line, and includes providing a user interface toa user for information entry on a device, as described further herein.

Step 904 includes receiving (optionally via the user interface), movingobject data corresponding to a moving object, as described furtherherein. Step 906 includes, receiving sensor data from a sensor, asdescribed further herein. Step 908 includes merging the received movingobject data and the received sensor data into a set of merged data, asdescribed further herein. The user interface can be from a camera in thedrone that provides one or more of: three dimensions; virtual realityinteraction; and augmented reality interaction to in a phone, computer,heads-up display, or wrist mounted display.

Step 910 includes based on the merged data set, automaticallydetermining one or more of: a predicted location for the moving object,a potential path of travel for the moving object, a potential forinteraction between the moving object and one or more other objects, andan alert concerning the moving object, as described further herein. Step912 includes providing the alert, as described further herein.

In some contemplated embodiments, the present technology is a system(and corresponding method) that provides a service where third partiesare providing inputs and those third parties or others are receivingoutputs from the system. Inputs could include all types of sensor datapertaining to users and moving objects (e.g., that could be classifiedas hazards), and third-party consumption of both that same data as wellas receiving outputs from the system. Outputs received by thethird-party provider could include additional information generated bythe system pertaining to predictions determined concerning, but notlimited to, approximation and estimation of future location, proximity,trajectory and routing.

For one non-limiting example, the method can further include providingthe merged data set to a third-party provider, e.g., for generating apredicted location for the moving hazard (or other object), at least onepotential path of travel for the moving hazard (or other object), and/ora potential for interaction between the first user and the moving hazard(or another object), and for generating and transmitting an alert.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary computer system 1000 that may be usedto implement some embodiments of the present invention. The computersystem 1000 in FIG. 10 may be implemented in the contexts of the likesof computing systems, networks, servers, or combinations thereof. Thecomputer system 1000 in FIG. 10 includes one or more processor unit(s)1010 and main memory 1020. Main memory 1020 stores, in part,instructions and data for execution by processor unit(s) 1010. Mainmemory 1020 stores the executable code when in operation, in thisexample. The computer system 1000 in FIG. 10 further includes a massdata storage 1030, portable storage device 1040, output devices 1050,user input devices 1060, a graphics display system 1070, and peripheraldevice(s) 1080.

The components shown in FIG. 10 are depicted as being connected via asingle bus 1090. The components may be connected through one or moredata transport means. Processor unit(s) 1010 and main memory 1020 areconnected via a local microprocessor bus, and the mass data storage1030, peripheral device(s) 1080, portable storage device 1040, andgraphics display system 1070 are connected via one or more input/output(I/O) buses.

Mass data storage 1030, which can be implemented with a magnetic diskdrive, solid state drive, or an optical disk drive, is a non-volatilestorage device for storing data and instructions for use by processorunit(s) 1010. Mass data storage 1030 stores the system software forimplementing embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes ofloading that software into main memory 1020.

Portable storage device 1040 operates in conjunction with a portablenon-volatile storage medium, such as a flash drive, floppy disk, compactdisk, digital video disc, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) storage device,to input and output data and code to and from the computer system 1000in FIG. 10 . The system software for implementing embodiments of thepresent disclosure is stored on such a portable medium and input to thecomputer system 1000 via the portable storage device 1040.

User input devices 1060 can provide a portion of a user interface. Userinput devices 1060 may include one or more microphones, an alphanumerickeypad, such as a keyboard, or touch screen, for inputting alphanumericand other information, or a pointing device, such as a mouse, atrackball, stylus, or cursor direction keys. User input devices 1060 canalso include a touchscreen. Additionally, the computer system 1000 asshown in FIG. 10 includes output devices 1050. Suitable output devices1050 include speakers, printers, network interfaces, and monitors.

Graphics display system 1070 include a liquid crystal display (LCD),light emitting diode (LED) or organic light emitting diode (OLED) orother suitable display device. Graphics display system 1070 isconfigurable to receive textual and graphical information and processesthe information for output to the display device. Peripheral device(s)1080 may include any type of computer support device to add additionalfunctionality to the computer system.

Some of the components provided in the computer system 1000 in FIG. 10can be those typically found in computer systems that may be suitablefor use with embodiments of the present disclosure and are intended torepresent a broad category of such computer components. Thus, thecomputer system 1000 in FIG. 10 can be a personal computer (PC), handheld computer system, telephone, mobile computer system, workstation,tablet, phablet, mobile phone, watch, server, minicomputer, mainframecomputer, wearable, or any other computer system. The computer may alsoinclude different bus configurations, networked platforms,multi-processor platforms, and the like. Various operating systems maybe used including UNIX, LINUX, WINDOWS, MAC OS, PALM OS, QNX ANDROID,IOS, CHROME, and other suitable operating systems.

Some of the above-described functions may be composed of instructionsthat are stored on storage media (e.g., computer-readable medium). Theinstructions may be retrieved and executed by the processor. Someexamples of storage media are memory devices, tapes, disks, and thelike. The instructions are operational when executed by the processor todirect the processor to operate in accord with the technology. Thoseskilled in the art are familiar with instructions, processor(s), andstorage media.

In some embodiments, the computing system 1000 may be implemented as acloud-based computing environment, such as a virtual machine operatingwithin a computing cloud. In other embodiments, the computing system1000 may itself include a cloud-based computing environment, where thefunctionalities of the computing system 1000 are executed in adistributed fashion. Thus, the computing system 1000, when configured asa computing cloud, may include pluralities of computing devices invarious forms, as will be described in greater detail below.

Thus, specific embodiments of a secure line-of-sight communication withaircraft have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to thoseskilled in the art that many more modifications besides those describedare possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. Theinventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except inthe spirit of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A secure line-of-sight communication withaircraft comprising: a first user with a first line-of-sight transceiverto a second line-of-sight transceiver on a first aircraft; said firstaircraft having a third line-of-sight transceiver; a second user with afourth line-of-sight transceiver to a fifth line-of-sight transceiver ona second aircraft; said second aircraft having a sixth line-of-sighttransceiver that communicates to said third line-of-sight transceiver onsaid first aircraft; said first aircraft and said second aircraft thatrelays signals between said first user to said second user; at least oneof said first aircraft and said second aircraft further includes atleast one sensor or camera that detects hazards below or above at leastone of said first aircraft and said second aircraft, and said at leastone of said first aircraft and said second aircraft includes at least acentering receiver that includes at least one motor that redirects analignment of an optical receiver and one tracking device that maintainsa line-of-sight between said first user, said first aircraft, saidsecond aircraft and said second user; said first aircraft adjusts itsposition to maintain communication between said first user and saidsecond aircraft and said second aircraft adjusts its position tomaintain communication between said first aircraft and said user.
 2. Thesecure line-of-sight communication with aircraft according to claim 1,wherein said secure line-of-sight communication with aircraft whereinsaid aircraft is a drone.
 3. The secure line-of-sight communication withaircraft according to claim 1, wherein said secure line-of-sightcommunication with aircraft wherein said line-of-sight includes anoptical transmission.
 4. The secure line-of-sight communication withaircraft according to claim 3, wherein said secure line-of-sightcommunication with aircraft wherein said optical transmission is laser,infrared, ultraviolet, white light or a particular wavelength of light.5. The secure line-of-sight communication with aircraft according toclaim 1, wherein said transceiver is a cell phone having an illuminatingdevice and a camera.
 6. The secure line-of-sight communication withaircraft according to claim 1, wherein said signal is a voicecommunication.
 7. The secure line-of-sight communication with aircraftaccording to claim 1, wherein said signal is a data communication. 8.The secure line-of-sight communication with aircraft according to claim7, wherein said data communication is displayed on a screen.
 9. Thesecure line-of-sight communication with aircraft according to claim 1,wherein said sensor or camera provides user interface of one or more of:three dimensions, virtual reality interaction and augmented realityinteraction.
 10. The secure line-of-sight communication with aircraftaccording to claim 1, wherein said at least one tracking device includesa Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) sensor.
 11. The secureline-of-sight communication with aircraft according to claim 10, whereinsaid Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) sensor establishes a directionfor establishing at least an initial orientation for said firstline-of-sight transceiver or said second line-of-sight transceiver. 12.The secure line-of-sight communication with aircraft according to claim1, wherein said first aircraft or said second aircraft is launched froma moving vehicle, stationary location, or roving vehicle.
 13. The secureline-of-sight communication with aircraft according to claim 1, furtherincludes merging said sensor data with a location of said second user.14. The secure line-of-sight communication with aircraft according toclaim 13, further includes merging said sensor data from said firstaircraft and said second aircraft and sending a merged signal to atleast one of said first user and said second user.
 15. The secureline-of-sight communication with aircraft according to claim 1, furtherincludes at least a third user and at least a third aircraft.
 16. Thesecure line-of-sight communication with aircraft according to claim 1,wherein said hazard is selected from a group consisting of a vehicle, aperson, an aircraft, a rock, an avalanche or an animal.